Shelves for the Boat House

It really rained alot this weekend... we we spent alot of time cleaning up the shop, and put in some new shelfs for our gear inside the boat house.

The shelves are pretty basic - just a 2'x8' piece of 1/2" plywood the kids were using as a ramp...

We cut the sheet in half, then installed a few eye-bolts. We'll screw the wood into the wall, and use rope and eye-bolts to hold up the edges.

Pretty quick to get up, and they work great! The best part is that they are up about 8' high, so we can easily walk underneath and get around the boat.

Nothing to interfere with moving the boat in and out, and they are up high - just right to load and unload into when up in the boat.

Another angle...

And here you can see they are up high and well out of the way.

Best part is we can clean out alot of the clutter from the shop.

The Last of the Tomatoes

This weekend we are trying to get through the last of the tomatoes... we got so many of them this year!

They still look good. These are the most ripe. The bushes are still LOADED with green ones.




We've posted these pictures before of the tomatoe soup... but it sure is perdy, so here's another one.

Just Goofing Off...

The rain and darkness are decending on us here in the Northwest... and we've all been getting alittle antsy. This is just some goofy kids eager to get out in between the rain. They had fun building all kinds of ramps, and as you can see, they are kind of fun to watch.

Enjoy. As you watch these kids and their killer ramp, you may hear a voice far away... "kills.... kills..."

The Hunters turn to Gathering

The first mushrooms of the season! It is kind of funny to find mushrooms with all the dry, clear, sunny weather we've been having in the Pacific NW... but here they are.

Last year we didn't find Shaggy Mane mushrooms until the end of November... but here they are!

Shaggy Mane's taste pretty good - alot like normal 'store-bought' mushrooms. The best part about them is that they are easy to identify, and that they grow everywhere around town! They seem to like bark dust, lawns, and landscaping. We have about a dozen spots where we can find them pretty regularly.

These ones were pretty dry and firm. We sauteed them in just alittle butter. SMs are very mushy if they get too old - because they have so much water in them.

It is best to pick them when they first appear and before they open up. They are also great deep fried. The contain alot of water, and absorb it quickly, so keep them dry as possible.

After sautee'ing them we made a creamy sauce with them.

Great on the potatoes.

Usually in the fall and winter we keep small paper bags in our pockets in case we find some... paper is better than plastic, because it lets moisture out.

I didn't have a paper bag handy, but I did find a bag! Perfect!

This will keep the kids out of them, too - they won't go snooping in my bag, now!

Maybe I should use more of these for my Halloween candy...



As they mature, the Shaggy Mane (SM) gills get very dark, and turn inky - they are also called Inky mushrooms.

They are usually tall and oblong shaped, and of course shaggy.

The best way to ID a mushroom is using a spore print. Simply cut the top off a mushroom and place it (cap up) on a white piece of paper for a day, to let the spores drop out of the cap.

Here's the spore print of a SM. Pretty, isn't it. By the time the SM turns black and inky, it isn't much good for eating... too watery and mushy.

And too black...

Time to check our Chantrelle mushroom sites...

Hornets - the Plague of Summer's End

Over the weekend the kids discovered a pretty big hornet's nest... they are always a real menace during the late summer and early fall - especially with all the salmon and fruit around!

Here you can see the nest in the ground at the top right of the photo. The kids first tried using firecrackers... at least they had fun and didn't get hit!

Their next plan was to put pear juice into a hornet trap, and strategically place it near the nest. You can see about a half-inch of dead bugs in it already...

It is cold enough at night we can make a final assault under the cover of dark and cold...

Working on the Boat Motor - Impeller Replacement

Now that the boat is out of the weather, we can start working on it to fix or fix-up all the wear-n-tear from the last year of fishing and camping.

Last time out, our main motor got hot and started to overheat - especially as we idle or slowly motor around. When we throttle up the engine cools down a bit, but is still running hotter-than-normal. I suspect the impeller isn't pumping enough water at slower speeds...

So, we tore into the lower gear-box on the motor. Pretty straight forward to open it up - first remove a few 5/8" nylon nuts to drop the lower end off.






Also, we need to remove the trim-tab. We first made sure to mark the angle it was at for re-installing.

Pretty straightforward - didn't even need to take the prop off.








And off drops the lower end of the motor.

The longer bolts help guide the drive shaft and water tube into place...





Here is the detatched lower end.

Not too bad so far...






Here's a close-up of the water pump housing, bolts, etc.








Instead of clamping the assembly in a vice, we worked up a quick-n-easy clamp to hold it up while we dis-assemble the impeller housing.

Works great!




Here is the housing lifting off the drive shaft.








And here is the impeller inside the housing. The old one looks pretty good.

After replacing the impeller, we re-assembled the unit in reverse order of tear-down. The hardest part was simply aligning the impeller on the drive shaft with the gear-tooth aligned that spins the impeller.

Took about an hour. No major issues encountered! Now... lets fire it up and see if it runs!

Some More Fall Colors

Sorry - we couldn't help but post more pictures of the fall leaves. They are really turning on the color this week!

Here's a few more of the more brilliant colors we found in our wanderings. The neighborhoods really look great.




The colors contrast very nicely with the deep blue of the fall sky.

Some of these turned out really nice with a polarized lense, too.






Sorry about the powerline - but the contrast of this tree with the evergreens was worth the annoying lines through the shot.










Get out and enjoy the lights while they last - the rain will come soon enough. After all, this is the Pacific NW!

A New Meat Seat

Last week at Cabela's in Lacey, WA we bought a new scale - for weighing our meat and other stuff when we butcher, etc. It is pretty nice and goes up to 550lbs.

So... how much are the kids weighing?

We put a swing on the scale and had some laughs...





"why won't you push me HIGH, Dad?"

"does this scale make me look fat?"

The Boat House is DONE.

The shop addition for the boat is finished! Just in time, too - the rain is supposed to start this week.

Here's the inside of the shop, where we added a door into the covered area.




And here is the other side of the wall - from the side where the boat will be.

You can see the cutout and new door waiting for installation.

The addition really looks much BIGGER, now that the metal is on.




Here is the inside of the shop, with the new door! Yeah - we can unload the boat out of the weather!








Here is another angle on the addition - as we are backing the boat in.

The ONLY disappointment of the addition is that the gravel is too high to back the boat into the covering with the boat top still up. It would be nice to back in and pull out with the top up, but there is about 2 feet of clearance we can't avoid.



Here's the boat in its new home. Can you see it'big grin?

This fishing buddy is wondering WHY did we unhook the boat - lets take it out on the river!

Patience! Lets wait for rain and the fish will come!




Here's the backside. Alot of room on both sides and cover for the motors.

This project has taken a while to for us to finallly get to... and now its finally up! It is good to get the boat out of the weather.

Fall Lights are ON!

Fall is AWESOME! The trees are really lighting up well.

There is something about the long, slanted sunlight this season brings - the long shadows, the stark contrasting rays...

...the sky seems blue'er, and there is almost a meloncholic sigh from everything outside.

These are a couple of the trees around the neighborhood where I work.

They are trying to put on a good show!

Here are the grape vines in the early morning rays... THIS is what I call "fall yellow".

The bright reds and oranges are brilliant, but these yellows and greens with the bright fall light are my favorite - like they are right out of (or into) a Hopper painting.

Here's the other side, in the direct light.

Grapes are the finest of the fruit - they are easy, deliver pure sugar, and delight the eyes in every light and season.

Speaking of Edward Hopper - fall is really his season. His use of the fall light is what always grabs me and keeps me.

Here's another one that 'highlights' the light...

He painted alot of people, too - but people only swim through the lights... it is buildings and the landscape that grab and hold it.

...and keep it from 'falling'.

Boat Shed Progress

Our friend is back to finish the 'Boat Shed'. Just don't call it a lean-to!

The metal is the last to be put up. Oh, and a door on the back to get into the shop.

Oh, and the paint...



Lots of good 'helpers', though.


The blank look on the boy's face is because I said "grab a paintbrush".

Oh, that blank look - they learn it quickly!






The metal is going up quickly. Should be done in a day. Yeah!

Can't wait to get the boat inside... its been a long-time coming.